Peptide immunotherapy using multiple predominant allergen-specific T cell epitopes is a safe and promising strategy for the control of type I allergy. In this study, we developed transgenic rice ...plants expressing mouse dominant T cell epitope peptides of Cry j I and Cry j II allergens of Japanese cedar pollen as a fusion protein with the soybean seed storage protein glycinin. Under the control of the rice seed storage protein glutelin GluB-1 promoter, the fusion protein was specifically expressed and accumulated in seeds at a level of 0.5% of the total seed protein. Oral feeding to mice of transgenic rice seeds expressing the T cell epitope peptides of Cry j I and Cry j II before systemic challenge with total protein of cedar pollen inhibited the development of allergen-specific serum IgE and IgG antibody and CD4+ T cell proliferative responses. The levels of allergen-specific CD4+ T cell-derived allergy-associated T helper 2 cytokine production of IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 and histamine release in serum were significantly decreased. Moreover, the development of pollen-induced clinical symptoms was inhibited in our experimental sneezing mouse model. These results indicate the potential of transgenic rice seeds in production and mucosal delivery of allergen-specific T cell epitope peptides for the induction of oral tolerance to pollen allergens.
A 5-year-old male toy poodle was referred for corrective surgery of an atrial septal defect. A sinus venosus–type atrial septal defect (ASD) with partial anomalous venous connection, suspected ...pulmonary hypertension, and pulmonary edema was confirmed by radiography, echocardiography, and cardiac computed tomography. Thoracic radiographs showed right heart enlargement. Echocardiography revealed right atrial and ventricular dilatation with mild flattening of the interventricular septum. Left-to-right shunt flow through the ASD was observed on color Doppler examination. Surgical correction of the sinus venosus ASD with a partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection was performed under cardiopulmonary bypass. A follow-up evaluation at 1 year after surgery showed resolution of the right-sided volume overload and no evidence of recurrence of ASD. Complications were not observed. Our findings indicate that surgical correction under cardiopulmonary bypass is a valid treatment option for an ASD with a partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection.
We isolated DEAD-box genes from three ascidian species (Ciona intestinalis, Ciona savignyi, and Halocynthia roretzi) by polymerase chain reaction methods. We obtained two types from each of C. ...intestinalis and C. savignyi, and four types from H. roretzi. The first type (DEAD1) belonged to the vasa subfamily, the second type (DEAD2) to the PL10 subfamily, the third type (DEAD3) to the p68 subfamily, and the forth type (DEAD4) did not belong to any of the subfamilies. We further analyzed in detail the expression pattern of C. intestinalis vasa-type gene (Ci-DEAD1) by in situ hybridization. In sections of the ovary and testis, the Ci-DEAD1-specific probe reacted intensely to small germ cells, oogonium, and/or oocyte and spermatogonium and/or spermatocyte, respectively. In whole-mount specimens of juveniles this probe specifically reacted to the primordial germ cells in the gonad rudiment. These gonad-specific expressions were confirmed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction of RNA from various tissues. The transcript was present in unfertilized eggs and in the central cytoplasm of blastomeres until the two-cell stage. During the second cleavage a part of the transcripts moved to the posterior region of embryos and, during early embryogenesis, was localized in the posterior-most blastomeres. In the tailbud, one or two hybridization signals were detected in the caudal endodermal strand. Based on these observations, we propose precursors of primordial germ cells in ascidians.
Background
Nasopharynx‐associated lymphoid tissue (NALT) serves as an important inductive site for mucosal immunity in the upper respiratory tract. Despite its importance in the mucosal immune ...system, little is known regarding the role of NALT in airway allergic immune responses. We aimed to elucidate the role of NALT in the induction of upper airway allergic responses in a mouse model.
Methods
Inhibitor of DNA binding/differentiation 2 (Id2)−/− and Id2+/− mice was exposed to the ovalbumin (OVA)‐induced allergic rhinitis model, because the former resulted in the NALT deficiency. The allergic parameters, such as allergic symptoms, serum OVA‐specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels, eosinophil infiltration, and cytokine profiles in the nasal mucosa, were compared between Id2−/− and Id2+/− groups.
Results
NALT‐null, Id2−/− mice displayed significantly lower allergic responses compared with Id2+/− mice, as demonstrated by lower levels of allergic symptoms, serum OVA‐specific IgE, eosinophilic infiltration, and local Th2 cytokine transcriptions. To determine which of two factors, that is, the absence of NALT or the alteration of immunocompetent cell populations caused by the Id2 deficiency, has a larger effect on the attenuated allergic immune responses in Id2−/− mice, lethally irradiated Id2−/− mice were engrafted with C57BL/6 wild‐type bone marrow cells and showed still significantly lower allergic immune responses compared with equally treated Id2+/− mice. In addition, IgE class switch recombination‐associated molecules, such as ε immunoglobulin heavy‐chain germline gene transcript, ε mRNA, and activation‐induced cytidine deaminase mRNA, were detected in NALT from OVA‐sensitized wild‐type mice.
Conclusion
These results show the critical role of NALT for the induction of allergic responses in the upper airway at least in part by means of class switching to IgE in situ.
Metal-on-metal hip resurfacing (MOMHR) is available as an alternative option for younger, more active patients. There are failure modes that are unique to MOMHR, which include loosening of the ...femoral head and fractures of the femoral neck. Previous studies have speculated that changes in the vascularity of the femoral head may contribute to these failure modes. This study compares the survivorship between the standard posterior approach (SPA) and modified posterior approach (MPA) in MOMHR.
A retrospective clinical outcomes study was performed examining 351 hips (279 male, 72 female) replaced with Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR, Smith and Nephew, Memphis, Tennessee) in 313 patients with a pre-operative diagnosis of osteoarthritis. The mean follow-up period for the SPA group was 2.8 years (0.1 to 6.1) and for the MPA, 2.2 years (0.03 to 5.2); this difference in follow-up period was statistically significant (p < 0.01). Survival analysis was completed using the Kaplan-Meier method.
At four years, the Kaplan-Meier survival curve for the SPA was 97.2% and 99.4% for the MPA; this was statistically significant (log-rank; p = 0.036). There were eight failures in the SPA and two in the MPA. There was a 3.5% incidence of femoral head collapse or loosening in the SPA and 0.4% in the MPA, which represented a significant difference (p = 0.041). There was a 1.7% incidence of fractures of the femoral neck in the SPA and none in the MPA (p = 0.108).
This study found a significant difference in survivorship at four years between the SPA and the MPA (p = 0.036). The clinical outcomes of this study suggest that preserving the vascularity of the femoral neck by using the MPA results in fewer vascular-related failures in MOMHRs. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2014;3:150-4.
Summary Perioperative increase in oxidative activity in surgical patients reportedly prevents postoperative surgical site infection (SSI). Several clinical studies have shown that oxidative activity ...under sevoflurane anaesthesia was higher than that under propofol anaesthesia. Therefore, we hypothesised that sevoflurane anaesthesia would discourage SSI compared with propofol anaesthesia. To examine the effect of anaesthesia maintained with sevoflurane and propofol on SSI, a total of 265 consecutive adult patients, with American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status 1–3, who underwent elective open gastrointestinal surgery under general anaesthesia, were surveyed for SSI between January 2007 and December 2008. Sevoflurane or propofol was selected to maintain anaesthesia in 95 and 170 patients, respectively. A propensity score was used for pairwise matching of these patients to avoid selection biases between the two methods of anaesthesia. Propensity matching yielded 84 pairs of patients. We compared standardised infection ratios (SIRs), i.e. the quotient of the number of SSI cases observed and the number of SSI cases expected, calculated using data from the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance, between sevoflurane and propofol anaesthesia. After propensity matching, SIR after sevoflurane anaesthesia was 1.89 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.46–2.32, which was significantly lower than after propofol anaesthesia (4.78; 95% CI: 4.30–5.27) ( P = 0.02). This study suggests that sevoflurane tends to suppress SSI after elective open gastrointestinal surgery compared with propofol.
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